Ban the box

Following the publication of Unlock’s A question of fairness report, Co-director Christopher Stacey speaks to Radio Sussex’s Danny Pike. The report finds that the vast majority of national companies continue to have criminal record declarations as a core part of their initial job application forms. By doing so, employers are not only potentially acting unlawfully but are also missing

Unlock has today published new research that shows the vast majority of national companies continuing to have criminal record declarations as a core part of their initial job application forms. Marking the 5-year anniversary of the Ban the Box campaign, the findings reveal the extent to which national employers have failed to recognise the negative

Today we have submitted our written response to the government’s call for evidence on the employment for people with convictions. Download our submission here. You can find out more about the call for evidence in our recent post to encourage others to get involved. Our submission draws on work that we’ve been doing as part

The Cabinet Office (in partnership with the Ministry of Justice) are calling for evidence on the employment for people with convictions, and they want to hear from employers about recruitment practices, employability initiatives and evidence/impact. As well as employers, the Cabinet Office want to hear from organisations or professionals who: work with people with convictions

An article published by Nat West suggests that one remedy to fill the UK’s skills gap could be to hire more ex-offenders and discusses what is the best way to go about it. Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock, contributes to the article, stating “We know from employers that have been proactive in recruiting people with convictions that they make good employees.

This week David Cameron unveiled a raft of prison reform measures. One of these will be to scrap the declaration of criminal convictions in the initial application stage for civil service jobs. Responding to this announcement, Unlock’s Christopher Stacey said: “We welcome David Camerons’ commitment to the Ban the Box campaign and in changing the recruitment practice

We are delighted to report that Unlock has been awarded a three-year grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation that will enable us to deliver a programme of work that will challenge the discrimination faced by people with convictions in getting employment. This marks the beginning of a significant area of work for Unlock, enabling us

Business in the Community’s Ban the Box campaign, which Unlock actively supports, has reached its one year anniversary. It was launched in October 2013 in response to widespread and costly discrimination against people with convictions who are seeking work. So far 24 employers, with a combined UK workforce of over 200,000, have committed to support

Christopher Stacey, Co-Director, Unlock comments on the issues discussed in a recent Ban the Box webinar. Quite rightly, the Ban the Box campaign is focused on a specific issue, that being the tick-box that appears on many job application forms, frightening the life out of somebody who has a criminal record. Many people with convictions see

Unlock has today lent its support and endorsement to the ‘ban the box’ campaign, which is being led by Business in the Community. The aim of the campaign is to increase the opportunity for people with convictions to compete for jobs. Christopher Stacey, Co-Director at Unlock, said “We believe that that, by banning the box,